Lawrence Stroll, Aston Martin, Zandvoort, 2024

RaceFans Round-up: 18th January 2025

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Welcome to Saturday’s edition of the RaceFans round-up.

Comment of the day

Although Aston Martin had a disappointing season last year, Lawrence Stroll deserves respect for investing to make them genuine competitors, says Michael:

Aston Martin’s investments in their new facilities stand in stark contrast to the lackluster approach taken by Haas, Williams, Sauber, Red Bull II (a few ‘coincidental’ relocations of their staff to ‘certain’ facilities in Milton Keynes notwithstanding), or indeed even by the much bigger manufacturer Renault.

Stroll, whatever misgivings one might have about his belief in his son, is making a serious effort here.
MichaelN

Social media and links

Aston Martin's plot to take over Formula 1 (Daily Mail - subscription required)

'Monetary enticement helped ensnare Newey, too. A share in the company was a key inducement, and one which Verstappen, if he ever were to fulfil the conclusion of Stroll’s vaulting aims, would almost certainly be able to avail himself.'

WEC entry list 2025 (PDF) (FIA WEC)

Nicolas Pino and Nicolas Varrone confirmed as Neel Jani's team mates in the Proton Porsche line-up.

No rest for Penske. Racing titan continues to find new ways to grow (Detroit Free Press)

'It was that line in the sand that helped him make his decision. He passed on the Indy 500 test, which went to another young driver: Mario Andretti, who would go on to become a racing legend. 'I went my way, and Mario went his,' Penske said with a smile. 'I think it worked out pretty well for both of us.''

Jonathan Refoy to join the FIA as chief ommunications officer (FIA)

'Jonathan has over 20 years’ experience in corporate communications and campaigning in a range of sectors. He joins from Interserve Group, where he served on the executive committee as group corporate affairs director, leading the company’s global media and government relations, as well as internal, transformation and digital communications.'

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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9 comments on “RaceFans Round-up: 18th January 2025”

  1. Sorry, but while Stroll is a AM driver, the team cant be taken seriously.
    Hiring Newey is, at best, an event-driven opportunity to attract investor and allow for Stroll senior to get its exit.

    1. Sorry, but while Stroll is a AM driver, the team cant be taken seriously.

      That’s like saying that Ferrari couldn’t be taken seriously because they never paired Schumacher with an ‘A’ level team-mate. Red Bull and Mercedes have both done exactly the same thing – clearly they weren’t serious either.
      Despite those three teams winning most of the WCC’s and WDC’s over the last 25 or so years….

      Or is it just the family connection that bothers you?
      Jos Verstappen and Anthony Hamilton may not ‘own’ their son’s teams, but they’ve both been just as involved in their kids’ careers. Including through funding them and creating opportunities. Same can be said for every other driver, and not just in F1.

      So what is the problem exactly?

    2. El Pollo Loco
      18th January 2025, 7:00

      Not much thinking went into this post, huh?

    3. While there are clear upgrades over Lance Stroll to be had, Aston Martin is at least pairing him with Vettel and Alonso – who had six WDCs between them. They’re not propping him up by putting Sargeant in the other car. That said, I think Lawrence Stroll is wrong that Lance is going to learn from the best and could be champion if he gets the right car. But be that as it may, Lance Stroll is far from the only guy who has his drive for what might be called secondary reasons.

      There is a risk in this though. Suppose Aston Martin was a bit better in 2023 and Red Bull a bit worse. Alonso might have had a real chance to take the title. You can’t predict that, and in such a case, Stroll would become a liability for sure – same as Pérez this previous year.

      1. I’m not sure if Lance has learned anything from Seb or Fernando. He’s not bad per say and has his moments but he does have a habit of making embarrassing mistakes and really doesn’t seem to have really improved overall.

  2. Plot to literally take over F1 from LM? Good luck with that.

    1. Subscription Required? Daily Mail?! Good luck with that, too.

  3. Two articles from the Daily Mail in a week. Talk about bottom feeding.

  4. Feels like we are on the verge of a big surprise soon. Like an engineering change that is brillant that no one expected. Cant wait.

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